A School of Education faculty member recently helped launch Spain’s first national training program in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) — an evidence-based, live-coaching intervention that strengthens relationships between young children and their caregivers.
Larissa Niec, a professor in the Department of Counseling Psychology and president of PCIT International, is a PCIT International Global Trainer and has published extensively on its effectiveness.
PCIT is designed for children ages 2 to 7 and their parents and has been implemented in about 22 countries worldwide to prevent child abuse and treat child conduct problems. The effort in Spain marks the therapy’s first implementation in the country — a milestone that expands the global reach of PCIT and strengthens the network of clinicians using this model to support families.
As a PCIT International Global Trainer, Niec led the Spain initiative alongside Miya Barnett, her former doctoral student, and Ana María Salinas, a Chilean therapist who trained with them in 2021 and now directs the PCIT program in Santiago, Chile. Together, they guided psychiatrists and psychologists from Hospital Universitari de Santa Maria de Lleida and Sant Joan de Déu Terres de Lleida through intensive, hands-on instruction.
The training team will collect data on both the implementation process and the impact of the treatment as part of an ongoing research study. These findings will help inform how PCIT is implemented and adapted within Spain’s health-care system and contribute to future program development internationally.
In addition to her international leadership, Niec is preparing to open a PCIT clinic on the UW–Madison campus, where students will gain direct experience in delivering and studying this innovative intervention. The campus clinic will serve as a training site for future clinicians while increasing access to effective treatment for local families.
The project in Lleida has drawn media attention across Catalonia, including a televised segment on Lleida TV and articles in multiple regional newspapers. This recognition highlights both the importance of PCIT’s expansion and the growing collaboration among international partners working to strengthen early intervention and family mental-health care.